Fort Mac rebuild will bring in $5.3B

Picking up the pieces from the country’s costliest natural disaster is expected to bring in about $5.3 billion in investment to the province over the next few years.

A Conference Board of Canada report says reconstruction efforts will also create about 9,000 jobs by the end of 2019. Real GDP is expected to drop by about 0.1% this year, and then increase by 0.4% next year, 0.2% in 2018, and 0.1% in 2019.

However, it’s not all good news, as the government is expected to carry some sizeable debt through 2019, and insurers will have to absorb the $3.6 billion in claims. By contrast, there was about $1.8 billion in claims from the southern Alberta floods, with governments registering about a $3 billion in losses due to the lack of flood insurance in the province.

It’s unlikely that the oil industry will be able to ramp up production enough to recoup the $1.4 billion in losses from having to shut down while the fire raged.

The report also admits that the true effect of the disaster in the loss of personal items, homes, and livelihoods cannot be fully measured. (kdr)